April 24, 2014

Four Reminders

1. YOU are okay. You are just a little stronger now.

Having
a bad day? I have learned that it’s okay. YOU are okay. But
now you’re a little stronger than you were yesterday.

Put
your hand on your heart. Feel that? That’s called “a purpose”.
You’re here today for a reason. Don’t give up and don’t give in.
And above all, don’t let one or two dark clouds cover the entire sky. The
sun is always shining on some part of your life. Sometimes you just have
to forget how you feel, remember what you deserve, and keep pushing forward.

Keep
in mind that we’ve all made mistakes. We’ve all made absolute fools of
ourselves and I am no exception. We’ve let people take advantage of us,
and we’ve accepted way less than we deserve. And sometimes, we too have
given others way less than they deserve. Sometimes we let our priorities
and our boundaries get ravished by the chaos of the day. But if you think
about it, we’ve learned a lot from our bad choices, and even though there are
some things we can never recover, and people who will never be sorry, we now
know better for next time. We now have more power to shape our future.

2. You are far more capable than you think.

You
have to remember that you are incredibly capable of handling great challenges.
But when times are good, and everything is comfortably in order, it can be easy
to become complacent and forget how skillful and resourceful you are capable of
being. Unanticipated troubles are necessary evils that push you forward;
because the troubles will eventually end, but the lessons and growth you gain
from them will last a lifetime.

Truth
be told, there are two types of pain in life: pain that hurts you, and pain
that grows you. But when you learn from a difficult experience, they are
one and the same. Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It
comes from overcoming the things you could not do before. Tough
situations build strong, successful people. So no matter how much it
hurts now, you have to hold your head up, grit your teeth, and take another
step. Don’t waste time complaining. In the end, persistence and
determination speak loud enough. Focus diligently through your struggles.
Work hard in silence, and let your success be your noise.

3. The struggle is the path, and it leads to better days.

Will
the road ahead always be easy? Not at all. But will it be worth
your while? Absolutely. Because the struggle is not found on the
path, it is the path, and it leads to better days. When the day is really
dark, it can be hard to see the light, but we all have to try. True
strength comes when you have so much to cry and complain about, but you prefer
to smile and appreciate your life instead. There are blessings hidden in
every struggle you face, but you have to be willing to open your heart and mind
to see them. You can’t force things to happen. You will only drive
yourself crazy trying. All the time travel in the world will not change
the fact that at some point you have to let go and let what’s meant to be, BE.

In
the end, life is about trusting your intuition, taking chances, losing and
finding happiness, cherishing the memories, and learning through experience.
It’s a long-term journey. You have to stop worrying, wondering, and
doubting every step of the way. Laugh at the confusion, live consciously
in the moment, and enjoy your life as it unfolds – struggles and all. You
might not end up exactly where you intended to go, but you will eventually
arrive precisely where you need to be.

4. Taking the next step is always worth it.

And
that’s why the best thing you can do is to keep going. Don’t be afraid to
get back up – to try again, to love again, to live again, and to dream again.
Don’t let a hard lesson harden your heart. Life’s best lessons are often
learned at the worst times and from the worst mistakes. There will be
times when it seems like everything that could possibly go wrong is going
wrong. This happened to me in Nov 2011. I felt like I would be stuck in that
rut forever, but I wasn’t, with a good pastoral friend and wonderful sister.
They taught me that sometimes things have to go very wrong before they can be
right. Sometimes you have to go through the worst, to arrive at your
best.

Yes,
life is tough, but you are tougher. Find the strength to laugh every day.
Find the courage to feel different, yet beautiful. Find it in your heart
to make others smile too. Don’t stress over things you can’t change.
Live simply. Love generously. Speak truthfully. Work diligently.
And even if you fall short, keep going. Keep growing.

Awake
every morning and do your best to follow this simple daily TO-DO list: Think
positively. Eat healthy. Exercise today. Worry less.
Work hard. Laugh often. And then rewind and repeat…

The floor is yours…

If
you’re having a bad day, or if you’re struggling in any way at all, know that
you are not alone. We are all in this together. Many of us are
right there with you, working hard to feel better, think more clearly, and keep
our lives on track.

In
fact whenever life gets tough, and things go wrong, focus on what’s right – the
positives.